December, 2004

The Farmer Next Door In the 1880 census of Hootenville, Upson County, Georgia, the first entry reads: Birdsong Geo. P. Self M S W 38 GA Farmer The second entry is that for Matilda Manson and her son Otis. Their neighbor is George Preston Birdsong, born May 25, 1841, died 1905. (The Birdsong Family website is an outstanding work). He …Continue reading →

Breaking Down the House The most frustrating experience for a genealogist (or anyone else, come to think of it) is to run smack head-long into a brick wall. Genealogical brick walls are those mysterious deadends that seem to make one’s research goals impossible to attain. They’re frustrating because we know somebody must know the key to the riddle–but who? Where? …Continue reading →

So I was saying . . . this Jewish-Caribbean thing could be a new doorway opening up here. One of our family members, Harold V. Manson, has a vague, but certain recollection about a Jewish connection to his black family. He is the grandson of Otis Manson (born c. 1867, Upson County, Georgia) [see She’s Spanish]. Harold Manson’s recollection is …Continue reading →

I can’t believe it’s been nearly seven weeks since I last posted here! No spectacular excuse–just temporarily brain-dead. Well, I’m back . . . . Hanuka in the Islands, Mon? Yesterday (Christmas) I went to dinner at the home of a long-time colleague. She had her daughter visiting from college and a neighbor woman and her son present also. The …Continue reading →